Letter from the editor | Our decision regarding the men's basketball graphic

On Tuesday, April 15, The Daily Pennsylvanian published an article titled “Welcome to the new Penn basketball” with an accompanying graphic of the Penn basketball team. In the graphic, members of this year’s Penn basketball team had either a circle around or an X over their faces to symbolize who would be on the team next year. Our goal with this story and the graphic was to show our readers the reality of the team’s situation with five seniors graduating, three players leaving and only nine players returning next season.

Our intention was not to attach a negative connotation to any of the players. Rather, we had hoped to paint a clear picture of what the composition of the Penn basketball program may look like next season. We have the utmost respect for the five seniors who have dedicated themselves to the basketball program throughout the past four years. Amongst other things, these students are community activists, leaders and an exemplary representation of their school on and off the court.

We would like to apologize to anyone who we may have offended with the graphic. It was a decision in which we did not think about the full range of interpretations of this visual representation and the effects it would have on our community. After hearing from our readers, it is evident that we made the wrong decision in deciding how to represent the story.

We strive daily to serve our community by representing information accurately and objectively. I’m proud that we can be that source, and I’m grateful for the nature in which your concerns were brought to our attention. We expect you to hold us accountable, and I hope that in the future you will continue to do so.

Taylor Culliver is the President and Executive Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be reached at culliver@thedp.com.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.